Thursday, April 25, 2013

Senators introduce 15-yr. depreciation bill

Sens. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) have introduced a bill to make permanent a 15-year tax depreciation schedule for restaurant improvements and new construction, leasehold improvements and retail improvements.

The National Restaurant Associationsupports the bill, which would allow restaurateurs, landlords and other owners of commercial property to continue to write off property improvements and the cost of new restaurant construction over 15 years. Without congressional action, the current 15-year depreciation schedule will expire and revert to a 39-year schedule at the end of the year. NRA research shows that restaurants undergo significant renovations every six to eight years, on average.“Restaurants experience heavy wear and tear serving 130 million guests a day at nearly 1 million establishments nationwide,” said Scott DeFife, NRA executive vice president, policy and government affairs. “Making the 15-year depreciation provision permanent provides restaurant operators with the predictability needed to plan for future investments, and we commend Sens. Casey and Cornyn for their leadership on this critical issue for our industry.”"Small businesses are the backbone of our economy," Casey said. "We should provide them with the certainty they need to grow." The original cosponsors of the bipartisan legislation are Kay Hagan (D-N.C.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), James Risch (R-Idaho), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Mark Begich (D-Alaska), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), David Vitter (R-La.), and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).